How waterproof is a G-Shock? (Extreme Water Resistance Test)

What happens when you take a G-Shock watch 3,000 meters deep?

We’ve seen real world tests of affordable and expensive G-Shock watches operating at a depth of 200 meters before, but until now, we haven’t seen a depth test that shows when a G-Shock watch will fail. YouTube Channel Beyond The Press (related to Hydraulic Press Channel) conducted an extreme water resistance test on a G-Shock GW-7900 using a pressure chamber to simulate extreme ocean depths.

Unsurprisingly, the watch goes to 20 bar (equal to 200 meters) without any issues. Then it goes beyond 40 bar. The first sign of trouble appears at 50 bar (500 meters), when the display starts to get affected by the pressure. At around 57 bar, it looks like the display has failed, but when they stop increasing the pressure and lower it by a few bar, the display improves, and they see that the watch is still running with some parts of the display not working. At 67 bar, the display is further affected, but the watch is still running. From there, they decide to go straight to 100 bar (1 kilometer). At that point, it looks like the display is cracked, though one commenter says that it is not the outer screen but the thin glass inside that is used to mount the solar panel. The watch still shows signs of life. From there, they take it straight to 300 bar, where the display is further cracked, but the case remains intact. After taking the watch out, the host notes that the display doesn’t feel cracked when he rubs his finger across it, which supports what the commenter said. The case back is dented, but the host thinks that the watch is probably still running. “These are really tough,” he says.

It’s safe to assume that other G-Shock models would fare similarly to the GW-7900. The impressive result of this torture test probably doesn’t surprise G-Shock owners, as they have always been known to be underrated when it comes to water resistance. All current G-Shock watches (excluding the mostly inactive G-Shock Mini brand) are water-resistant to 200 meters (or 20 bar), though it is recommended to avoid pressing the buttons underwater. Watches in the G-Shock Frogman series, which are ISO-compliant “Diver’s 200M” models, have buttons that are designed and tested to work underwater. There was a real world test in Japan that took a Frogman GWF-1000 to a 1-kilometer ocean depth, and it was undamaged and working after being brought back. Though the Frogman is superior when it comes to water resistance and diving use, any G-Shock watch is a good choice for water sports and activities.

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